New Beginnings
by Ironette3
Summary: **Contains Iron Man 3 spoilers!** Takes place when Tony and Pepper arrive at Stark Tower, where they have to live while the Malibu mansion is being rebuilt. Includes Tony and Pepper arriving in NYC, Tony giving Pepper the necklace (more indepth than the movie), and the after credits scene with Bruce. Just a one shot.


So this was inspired by Iron Man 3, which Im about to see for the 3rd time sometime this week :P haha... Its at the end, when Tony and Pepper move into Stark Towers while the Malibu mansion is being rebuilt. I didnt read it over, so if theres any mistakes, I apologize!

Disclaimer: I own nothig Marvel related! Enjoy :)

* * *

Tony stared out the window of the private Stark plane, watching the ground slowly get closer. The pilot had just informed them that they were starting to land. In New York. Tony had been silent the whole plane ride, tightly gripping Pepper's hand, and staring wide eyed out the window. His panic attack ordeal hadnt really been handled, and the fact that they now had to live in Stark Towers in New York City while the Malibu home was being rebuilt wasnt helping. He was silent, and doing his best to stay calm. Having Pepper by his side really did help. He stayed quiet, only speaking when asked a question, and even then he answered short and to the point. Tony never lost contact with Pepper while they traveled. Whether it was holding her hand on the plane, or having his arm wrapped around her shoulders on the car ride from the airport to the tower, he never let go, and Pepper didnt try to make him. Tony was seemingly okay, until they pulled up infront of the tower, and he looked up. He took in the roof of the tower, with the Iron Man launch pad, and his last name in huge letters. Multiple flashbacks later, including the giant wormhole in the sky above the tower, and he lost it. His grip tightened around Pepper's shoulders, and his breathing grew heavy, and Pepper knew what was happening.

"Tony" she said, turning a bit and putting a hand on his leg.

"I cant do this" he breathed.

"Yes you can, everythings fine."

"No its... Its... I need a suit" he said, finally breaking away from Pepper and climbing out of the car clumsily. He closed the door before Pepper could get out behind him. He didnt even take a step away from the car before his legs gave out and he sunk to the ground. He brought his knees up to his chest, and leaned his back against the car, suddenly feeling exposed and vulnerable. All his suits were gone. The only one left was the War Mach- Iron Patriot armour, which Rhodey had. He reached up with one hand and grabbed the car door handle, gripping it like it was his life line. His breathing was fast, and none of his thoughts were coherent. He didnt notice that Pepper had gotten out of the car on the other side and walked around to stand infront of him. He jumped a bit when she started to kneel down, but once she was kneeling on the ground and closer to eye level, he stared into her blue eyes with his wide, urgent, brown ones. She looked at him with a concerned expression, and put her hands on either side of his face.

"You're okay" she whispered, pulling him closer as his trembling lessened. He slowly let go of the car handle, and wrapped his arms around her. They stayed like this until Tony's breathing finally slowed, and he let out a lame, forced chuckle.

"Im so screwed up."

"Yeah. But when have you ever been anything but?" Pepper replied, trying to lighten the mood.

"Have I told you how much I love you?" Tony asked, pulling back a bit to look Pepper in the eye.

"Yes, but I dont mind hearing it" she smiled and then added, "and I dont think it could measure up to how much I love you."

"Its debatable" said Tony, standing up, and grabbing Pepper's hand to help her do the same. "Lets just call it even." The driver, who was a young man and part of Stark Industries security, had gone to the trunk and gotten their bags while he waited for Tony's little 'episode' to end. Happy was still in the hospital back in Malibu, and Tony didnt want to have anyone else follow them around, but Pepper insisted. Pepper thanked the man as Tony put his sunglasses on and took their bags, trying to pretend nothing had happened.

* * *

They stepped off the elevator on the top floor, the penthouse.

"Welcome back Sir, Ms. Potts" greeted Jarvis.

"Hey J" replied Tony, as he dropped the suitcases, and walked over to the bar, which he had stocked up for their arrival. While he poured Pepper and himself chamaign, Pepper took off her shoes and walked barefoot around the penthouse. She didnt want to say anything for fear of setting off Tony, but this was the first time they had seen the tower after the repairs after the battle. It looked great. She was looking out at the city through the wall made of glass, when Tony came up behind her and cleared his throat. She turned around to see him standing with a glass of champaign in each hand, and smiled.

"To new beginnings" he said, holding out one of the glasses to Pepper. Just as they clinked glasses and took a sip, the elevator pinged, causing them both to lower their drinks and look.

"Welcome back!" said none other than Bruce Banner. Tony had let him live on his very own floor in the tower after the battle. Not like he was on his floor very often, he practically lived on the R&D floors.

"Hey big guy!" said Tony, walking over and giving him a friendly handshake.

"Dr. Banner! How are you?" greeted Pepper, walking up to him after Tony and giving him a one armed hug since she still held her champaign in one hand. Tony attempted to hide his smirk. Pepper purposly avoided calling Bruce by his first name because of the big deal he made about her being on a first name basis with Coulson.

"Im great" he said with a smile. "And please, just call me Bruce." Pepper glanced back at Tony, who just rolled his eyes dramatically and walked over to the couch. Pepper and Bruce made their way over as well, and the three talked for a while, catching up. Topics involving the Avengers, Tony's panic attacks, etc. were avoided thankfully. They talked about what Bruce had been working on recently, the absence of the arc reactor in Tony's chest, the Mandarin, the Malibu home, and more. The topic of Tony's Iron Man suits came up, and he glanced back at the launch pad that he knew wouldnt be used for a while, if at all. Tony didnt mention that he had made up to 42 suits. He just explained that he had cleaned the slate as a Christmas gift to Pepper, and almost even to himself. They were starting over.

"Lets go see what youre working on" suggested Tony, after a while of talking. Bruce agreed, and the three of them stood up. Bruce turned and started walking to the elevator, and Tony held back, turning to Pepper.

"Meet me out on the balcony at 8."

"Alright" Pepper replied, a bit confused.

"And wear something nice, I want it to be special" Tony added, before leaning in and kissing her. They broke apart, and Tony walked to meet Bruce, who was holding the elevator door open. The doors closed after Tony entered the elevator, and Pepper smiled to herself. What was Tony up to?

* * *

Tony paced back and forth on the balcony, dressed in a white suit, waiting for Pepper. It was 8:01. The sun had already set over the city, and the lights from all the buildings now lit the sky somewhat. Tony heard the door open, and he turned. Pepper walked out in a beautiful, silky brown, knee-length dress, her hair loose and flowing over her shoulders. Tony sighed and smiled.

"You look..." he trailed off, speachless. She walked up and wrapped her arms around him, and he followed suit.

"You look, too" she replied with a smile. He laughed a small, airy laugh. Pepper pulled back a bit and looked around, and took in the view of the city, and the setup on the balcony. For the first time Pepper could remember, Tony had been early. Early enough to set up a small circular table covered by a white table cloth. There were candles, and flowers, and 2 chairs across from each other. Each chair had silverware, a napkin, a plate with a wonderful looking meal ontop, and a champaign glass set infront of it. The bottle of champaign sat unopened in the center of the table, with the flowers and candles.

"Tony..." she breathed. It was her turn to be speachless. "This is amazing."

"I know" he replied quickly, earning a smack on the arm from Pepper. "Kidding. Really? You like it?"

"I love it."

"Thats a relief" he said, leaning so his forhead was touching hers. She let out a laugh. After a few seconds, Tony pulled back.

"I have something for you."

"You got me something? You didnt have to-" she said, but was silenced by Tony pulling a long jewlery box out of his pocket and opening it up for her to see what layed inside.

"Oh my god" she breathed.

"Come on, I'll put it on you" said Tony, pulling the necklace out of the box. It was a beautiful necklace, with a ruby heart key on it. The chain was something Pepper had never seen before. It was made of odd shaped pieces of thin metal. As he put it on her, Tony explained.

"The little pieces of metal are... Theyre um, the shrapnol... That was in my chest. Now you'll always have a part of me." He finished putting it on, and Pepper turned to face him.

"Tony, this is really beautiful."

"I love you, Ms. Potts."

"And I love you, Mr. Stark." They kissed, and then Tony had a thought.

"Better than the rabbit?" he asked, pulling back. Pepper rolled her eyes and laughed.

"It'll do" she said, repeating what she said when Tony had blown all his suits. Tony smiled a genuine smile.

"Lets eat."

* * *

Tony got off the elevator on one of the R&D floors, looking for Bruce. It had been a week since they had moved into Stark Tower, and Bruce had finally witnessed one of Tony's panic attacks.

"Hey, you got a minute?" Tony asked once he found him. Bruce stopped what he was doing.

"Sure." Tony sat down in a black leather chair in a small lounge area, and waited. It took Bruce a minute to realize Tony wanted him to come sit as well. He walked over and sat on the small couch across from Tony.

"A wise man once said: we make our own demons" Tony started. "Whatever happened to him I wish I knew, did he conquer them, what was he like, did he have armor like mine... Anyway, bottom line: I said it, because HE said it. So, this all began a long time back, in 1999 in Bern, Switzerland." Tony continued to talk, about everything screwed up in his life. He was venting. It was strange. But it helped. After completing his life story, he finally started to wrap things up.

"By the way, thanks for listening. Theres something about just getting it off my chest, and putting it out there in the atmosphere instead of holding this in... This is what gets people sick! Wow. I had no idea you were such a good listener. To be able to share all my intimate thoughts and experiences with someone, it just cuts the weight of it in half, you know? Its like a snake, swallowing its own tail, everything comes in a full circle." Bruce was dosing off, and startled himself away after dropping his glasses on the floor.

"And... And the fact that you've been able to help me process-" Tony looked over at Bruce and paused. Bruce scratched the back of his head.

"So...?"

"You with me?" Tony questioned.

"I was... You were at, um..."

"You're actively napping?"

"I was... I, I... I drifted" Bruce said, trying to explain. Tony just stared at him.

"Where did I lose you?"

"Um..." Bruce thought for a moment. "Elevator in Switzerland." Tony made a face.

"So you heard none of it."

"Im sorry" Bruce apologized. "Im not that kind of doctor. Im not a therapist, its not my training, I-"

"So?"

"I dont have the-"

"Time?" Tony finished.

"Temperment" Bruce corrected. Tony looked at him for a moment, then leaned back in his chair. He rubbed his face.

"You know what, now that I think about it... Oh god... My original wound." Bruce shook his head, and Tony continued.

"1983. Alright? Im 14 years old and still have a nanny? That was weird." Tony started a whole new rant, and Bruce just threw his head back. Who knew his friend was so screwed up?


End file.
